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Expat Cinema: Der Himmel Über Berlin (+English subtitles)

Wednesday 13 December 2023

Every Wednesday we screen the best foreign language movies with English subtitles.

Damiel (Bruno Ganz at his most vulnerable) is one of a legion of angels watching over the lives of the inhabitants of a divided city. Set in the late 1980s, before the Berlin Wall fell, the film charts Damiel’s desire to feel, as well as the people he watches over. He is especially enamored of Marion, a trapeze artist at the local circus. Although only children can see the angels, Marion is vaguely aware of Damiel’s presence. So is the enigmatic actor Peter Falk, who is in town for a film shoot and has a past that puts him in close touch with the otherworldly guards.

Mogelijk schadelijk tot 12 jaar Angst

Wim Wenders Duitsland, Frankrijk 1987
127 minuten
Duits, Frans, Spaans, Hebreeuws, Japans, Turks gesproken, English ondertiteld

Koop nu een kaartje

Beyond the central romance, the richness of Wenders’ classic lies in the poignant snapshots of the lives of Berlin’s people – individuals on the fringes of the story, but who fuel Damiel’s longing for a mortal state. Wenders’ camera hovers above the city, capturing these lives in motion, while Damiel’s fellow angel Cassiel (Otto Sander) reminds his friend what he will lose by achieving a mortal state.

Der Himmel Über Berlin echoes the transition between color and black and white first used in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 drama A Matter of Life and Death, and emulates the magical aura of that film – not only in terms of subject matter, but also as a work of transcendent cinema.who watch over the lives of the inhabitants of a divided city. Set in the late 1980s, before the Berlin Wall fell, the film charts Damiel’s desire to feel, as well as the people he watches over. He is especially enamored of Marion, a trapeze artist at the local circus. Although only children can see the angels, Marion is vaguely aware of Damiel’s presence. So is the enigmatic actor Peter Falk, who is in town for a film shoot and has a past that puts him in close touch with the otherworldly guards.